Social media cheat sheet: Best times to post content on each platform

The end goal of leveraging social media for your brand is getting the audience to be so delighted, they take action. Depending on the goals of your brand, the action may vary. Whether you want to drive traffic to your site, provoke meaningful discussion, or “just” build awareness – here is the quick list of the best times to post on several different social media platforms.

Facebook: According to a great KISSMetrics infographic on the best times/days to post, Saturday at noon is the best for sharing. There’s also a slight spike in sharing around 7PM. Frequency of posts: one post every other day is the “sweet spot.”

Pinterest: I’ve mentioned before that the Google Hummingbird update loves “T” shaped authorities– which means that they favor authorities who have knowledge in a wide range of topics but deep, critical understanding in a few. Pinterest packs a huge punch for brands – and is becoming quite the marketing tool so you’ll want to make sure you’re posting at the best times to get the most exposure- reports vary, but a trusted resource (HubSpot, naturally) tells us that Saturday mornings dominate for when to post content. EXCEPT- if your brand is in the fashion or retail vertical – you’re gonna want to post on Friday afternoons around 3PM.

Twitter: I am seeing conflicting information from two of my go-to resources for all things inbound marketing and social media- so I’ll try to simplify it for you:

HubSpot data says: Mondays-Thurs 1-3 PM. Worst times? Any day after 8PM and Fridays after 3PM.

KISSMetrics data says: Best time to get re-tweeted is 5PM. Most click-throughs (CTR) – Wednesdays/Weekends at noon or 6PM, at a frequency of 1-4 Tweets per hour. (Spoiler: you could be cranking out up to a 350% CTR for your brand at that frequency!)

Kristin’s data says: From my own personal experience I’ve found that different segments of my audience are online later at night. The more “scientific” crowd is on well after 8PM, Twitter parties abound on topics from #MH370 research to some of my mom friends who work during the day and jump on after the kids are in bed. Sometimes I get better engagement at this time. I can say for sure though that I always get good CTR and re-tweets around the sweet spots that both HubSpot and KISSMetrics mentioned. So in short, get to know your audience. Different segments like different means of engagement- my re-tweets come from fellow marketing professionals, good conversation comes later at night. It varies.

LinkedIn: I’ve always found LinkedIn to be especially awesome on Tuesdays at 10AM. Coincidentally, this is also the best time for me to send out any email marketing campaigns. Here’s my theory on why this time is so great- Mondays are catch-up day. On Tuesday mornings, people have time to catch up on less urgent work matters like reading emails, or reading professional articles and networking on LinkedIn. Right after lunch is also a pretty decent time. Tuesday has always been good to me. If any of you have other great times, let me know in the comments.

Google+: This is another platform you do NOT want to be skipping out on. The Google Hummingbird will sing for your brand if you get as involved in Google+ as you can. HubSpot data says Wednesdays at 9AM are prime-time for Google+ posts. KISSMetrics data says you need to do some a/b testing to figure out which posts do well and it’s mostly dependent on your niche and time zone. Interesting tidbit: according to KISSMetrics, nearly 50% of the U.S. population lives in the Eastern time zone. Combine Eastern and Central time zones and you’ve got a little over 80% of the U.S. population. Just something to take into consideration. Try out this awesome app: Timing+ to see what your Google+ “sweet spot” is. Yes, it’s awesome, and you can thank me later.

So there you have it. A not-so-brief quick list of the best times to share, post, and engage on some of the most powerful social media platforms. Hopefully, you run with this information and see a great boost to your brand. What have you found to be most effective as far as timing and sharing? Let me know in the comments! The more information the better!

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Marketing professional in Rochester, NY, with over 14 years of experience in the marketing and advertising field. Broad knowledge base with all forms of marketing, with critical understanding of search behavior, search engine marketing, and social media marketing.